'Nativity' spotlights gap with Christian audience

April 03, 2007|By Lorenza Munoz, Los Angeles Times

HOLLYWOOD - Laurie Foos, a student at the Fuller Theological Seminary, figured she didn't need to rush out to see New Line Cinema's "The Nativity Story" in its first week. She waited until her kids came home from college, venturing to the theater on Christmas Day, nearly a month after the movie opened. But by then, "Nativity" was out of her local multiplex. "It was the perfect day to see it, but they had pulled it from the theater," said Foos, adding that if she had heard more about the film from within the Christian community, she would have seen it opening day, Dec. 1. In the movie business, the first weekend is a crucial gauge in determining whether a movie lives or dies. The soft $8 million opening for "The Nativity Story" wounded its chances of becoming a holiday hit and could dampen Hollywood's enthusiasm for big-budget faith-based movies. Competition later in the month forced many exhibitors to push "Nativity" off the marque to make room for such family films as "Night at the Museum," "The Pursuit of Happyness," and "Charlotte's Web." Even so, "Nativity" held on strong for several weeks, performing particularly well the week before Christmas. Ticket sales for the film, which tells the story of Mary and Joseph on the way to the birth of Jesus, went up 52 percent the Wednesday before Christmas and 96 percent Thursday. The movie earned about $36.7 million by the beginning of January - a solid showing, considering its weak opening. - ew Line spent approximately $65 million making and marketing "Nativity" and will likely make its money back on home video. Wyck Godfrey, producer of "The Nativity Story," fears his movie's slow momentum at the box office will discourage others from making large-budget, overtly Christian entertainment. Other studios, such as 20th Century Fox's FoxFaith division, are distributing low-budget Christian films, but most of them will skip theaters and go directly to video.